Rumors that Nick Diaz will be stepping in for Josh Koscheck to face Demian Maia at UFC 163 are, sadly, just that.

The weekend saw increasing speculation that recent welterweight title challenger Diaz would make his return to the UFC by stepping in for an injured Koscheck, who pulled out of the Maia fight last week.

But the UFC has confirmed to Fighters Only that the UFC 163 card will be going ahead without Maia on it and that no replacement is being sought.

Maia will be reallocated to another card.

As for Diaz, his friend and sometime videographer ‘Layzie the Savage’ reports that “Nick has no interest in fighting Maia.”

Diaz hasn’t fought since losing a decision to welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 158 in May.

That was his second loss in a row - the other was to Carlos Condit - and it caused intense frustration for Diaz, who has been very vocal about what he sees as a trend towards ‘point fighting’ in MMA.

After the loss to St. Pierre he said he would probably be retiring because he is not interested in fighting younger rising names like Johny Hendricks; Diaz has been fighting professionally since 2001.

However, Diaz is as unpredictable as they come and if the right fights can be found we will surely see him back.